


A Proper Kiss

by BeTheCheeto



Category: Naruto
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 08:55:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13854366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeTheCheeto/pseuds/BeTheCheeto
Summary: Gai thinks Kakashi needs to get out more, so he drags him to a party. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned, but that's alright, because Gai is good for nothing if not being there for his rival, whether Kakashi admits he needs him or not.





	A Proper Kiss

Kakashi groans as he feels the familiar chakra at his front door. He tries to ignore it as he reads, curled up comfortably on his couch, legs tucked under a blanket. He had just found a series called Icha Icha a week ago while on return from a long, tedious mission, and by the end of the first chapter, had fallen in love. He'd been devouring every piece he could get his hands on ever since. He had really been looking forward to finishing this volume tonight and hopefully starting on the next, though he was sure that if he did, he probably wouldn't sleep at all. That was alright, though. He had just gotten back from a two month long mission, and was on mandatory time off for the next week and a half.

The overenthusiastic knock on the door comes almost immediately after Kakashi had sensed the teenager's presence. If there was one thing Gai wasn't, it was patient. Kakashi rolled his eyes. He often wondered how Gai ever survived on missions, though he certainly couldn't discount Gai's skill in taijutsu anymore. Kakashi continued to ignore the knock, trying to focus on the steamy sex scene he had been embroiled in before his 'rival’s’ uninvited (thought not unexpected) interruption. It wasn't as though he particularly expected the spandex-clad teen to show up tonight, specifically, just that Kakashi had learned some time ago that he could always expect that he could never expect Gai. The boy seemed to take every expectation Kakashi had of him as a challenge, and would proceed to do his level best to blow it out of the water. To his credit, he usually succeeded, leaving an awed and slightly horrified Copy Ninja staring after him (not that Kakashi would ever admit his awe; the ‘Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha’, as he had taken to calling himself, had enough confidence as it was. Kakashi wasn't sure the village could take him feeding into it).

Kakashi frowned in annoyance when the knock came again just a minute later, this time louder and more insistent. He continued to ignore it until he heard a familiar voice on the other side of the door. “Rival! I know you are in there! You may as well come out, or I'm coming in after you!”

Kakashi sighed as he stood and threw the blanket off himself, walking slowly to the door in the hopes that by the time he got there, the ambitious teenager would be gone. Of course, as usual, luck was not on his side. He opens the door only to see the teenager grinning at him, a thumb in the air and his other hand cocked on his hip. “Rival! So good to see you! I wish to invite you to a youthful gathering!” Gai exclaimed, acting as though him threatening the brooding teenager was not the only reason Kakashi had even bothered to open the door. Without further ado, he grabbed Kakashi's arm and dragged him out of the apartment. Kakashi barely managed to grab the door handle and slam the door shut as he tried to wrench his wrist from Gai's strong grasp. 

He finally managed to snatch his hand back once they were several blocks down the road already, and as he did so, he glared angrily at the older teenager. “What's the big idea, Gai?” he growled, ignoring the twinge of guilt he felt when he saw hurt flash across Gai's all-too-expressive face. If he was being honest, Kakashi knew what was going on here. He had seen the concern for him grow in the eyes of everyone in the village as he shunned all those who dared to attempt to get closer to him after the death of his team. The losses of Rin and Obito had been far too painful for him to be willing to risk that kind of hurt again, pushing away even his sensei in his grief, the time spent with the cheery blond a painful reminder of the absent personalities that should be filling the air with idle chatter. As it always happened in Kakashi's life, that decision bit him on the ass as well, when his sensei died defending the village. Died thinking Kakashi hated him, or resented him. Died not knowing that the only reason Kakashi pushed him away was because he didn't know how to reach out, and now it was too late. 

That's the way Kakashi's life had always been. Too little, too late. He had been unable to save his father, the body still warm when he discovered it. He had probably missed the moment of death by a mere hour. If only he hadn't stayed to practice that jump-kick until he had it perfected, maybe he could have saved him. He had been unable to save Obito, too late to realize that the boy's teasing and goading were his unique way of showing Kakashi he wanted to be friends, too late in his realization that maybe Obito was right. Had he accepted Obito’s initial request to save Rin, the boy might still live. He had been unable to save Rin, instead forced to watch in horror as she jumped in the path of his deadly Chidori, felt the warm rush of her blood over his hand. Heard the gurgled whisper of his name issued with her last breath, a trail of blood dripping down her chin as her lifeless body slumped forward against him. And most recently, unable to save his beloved sensei, trapped as he was by the elders behind barricades put in place to safeguard the younger generation from the raging chakra that was the Kyuubi as it terrorized the village.

It had been a mere six months since the fox had been released on the village, and the entire village was still grieving, both the loss of their beloved Hokage and his kind-hearted wife, but also for the dozens of shinobi who had given their lives in attempts to merely restrain the beast.

The village was used to taking large-scale hits to their shinobi population, with as ever-present as the threat of war always was in their dark and violent world and the three full-on world wars that had taken place in the last 100 years alone, the last having ended barely three years ago, but the Leaf was not used to having an attack in times of peace hit so close to home, nor be so devastating. Large portions of the village still had yet to be rebuilt, there was a new development that had been in construction on the outside of town that had been abandoned altogether, unlikely now to ever be completed. Almost a hundred had been killed that night, both shinobi and panicked, fleeing citizens alike, and the air wherever you went was still heavy with the loss of those who had once walked these very streets. Kakashi didn't know many of those who had died, having cut himself off from the world and buried himself in his assignment to the ANBU Black Ops, grateful to Minato-sensei for giving him the ability to slip into the shadows and serve his village where he was needed most, and where others couldn't follow. Following the Kyuubi attack, Kakashi had simply shut everyone out and lost himself completely behind the identity of the terrifying Hound. 

Gai had been the only one that he hadn’t been able to push away. Well, him and the Sandaime, but Kakashi wasn’t really  _ allowed _ to push away the Sandaime, so he just tolerated the old man’s knowing looks and cryptic messages, responding with grunts and forcing himself to disregard the man’s concern as soon as he left the office. Gai, on the other hand, had simply made himself a presence Kakashi couldn’t ignore, no matter how hard he tried, and he tried  _ hard _ . Even as his other ‘friends’ began drifting farther, giving up on him, Gai never went away. He was always seeking Kakashi out, challenging him to all sorts of contests, ranging in difficulty from epic taijutsu battles that destroyed training fields to simple children’s games like Rock, Paper, Scissors. Even times like today, when he sought Kakashi in an attempt to force him to socialize with those that Kakashi knew he made uncomfortable. Kakashi was tired of it. 

Gai looked at him, trying to hide his flinch when Kakashi flared his chakra angrily, waiting for an answer. Kakashi turned angrily. “I’m not getting dragged into your childish games, Gai. There is no point in me going to your stupid party. Grow up.”

Kakashi was surprised when a hand gripped him tightly around the elbow as he tried to walk away. He turned, and his jaw almost dropped open as he saw Gai’s face tight with anger and concern. “No, Kakashi. I’m not letting you get away this time. Do you think that burying yourself in your work and fighting until you die is going to make it better? Do you honestly think that you can make up for losing them by dying yourself? _It_ _wasn’t your fault, Kakashi._ None of it was. You’re not doing your duty, you’re hiding. And I won’t allow it anymore, Kakashi. You ARE coming tonight, so you damn well put that fake-ass smile of yours on and get over it.”

Kakashi gaped at the spandex-suited teen, his mouth now actually hanging open. ‘ _ When did Gai get so assertive?’ _ he thought to himself. He fought the rising blush as he realized it was actually kind of hot. He nodded dumbly, and Gai’s hardened expression quickly disappeared, making way for a blinding grin. Kakashi narrowed his eyes in suspicion, wondering if he had been played. He sighed as he realized it didn’t really matter. He had agreed, and Gai could be very annoying when Kakashi didn’t uphold his end of a bargain. So, he silently trailed after the other boy, shoulders slumped and hands in his pockets, but no, he was NOT pouting, thank you very much. 

When they got to the party, which was apparently being held at Asuma’s, Gai turned to Kakashi, smile in place. “You ready?” he asked.

Kakashi fixed him with an unamused stare. “Do I have a choice?”

Gai just laughed as he knocked on the door. When it was opened, Asuma gestured them in, clearly surprised to see Kakashi present. At first, he said nothing, but once he recovered from his shock, he clapped Gai on the back. “Well, shoulda known that if it’d be anyone to drag Hatake out of his hole, it’d be you, Gai!” he boomed. Kakashi scowled at him, even as a large hand landed on his own shoulder. “Good to see you out again, Hatake. Please, help yourself to whatever!” 

After greeting his new guests, Asuma headed back towards the living room where Kakashi could see Kurenai and Anko gathered around a table playing cards. He himself chose to slink into the kitchen, finding only one other person in there, a kid probably only a year or two older than himself, leaning against the counter next to a bowl of chips and nursing a beer. “Yo,” he greeted, for the sake of pretending he was engaging. Gai may be acting like he was completely focused on the conversation he was having with his genin teammate, Genma, but Kakashi knew that he was being watched. To his surprise, the boy stiffened at the greeting. He raised an eyebrow as the kid cleared his throat. 

“Hey,” he said, his voice deep and soothing, and Kakashi’s face instantly smoothed into an unreadable mask. He knew that voice, someone he had worked with several times. An ANBU. Kakashi’s shoulders instantly relaxed with tension he hadn’t known he’d been holding.

He grabbed a beer himself and shrugged nonchalantly. “So who the hell are you?” he asked, his voice full of the same dry charm he dazzled the ladies with.

To his surprise, the older teen barked out a laugh. “You don’t waste any time, do you?” he asked. He shook his head, still chuckling with amusement as he turned from Kakashi back to his beer. “The name’s Seitaro. You?”

Kakashi waited a beat, watching carefully for a reaction. “Kakashi.”

He had to fight to keep the smirk off his face when he saw the kid’s eyes light with recognition. While it was true that they were supposed to be anonymous in the ANBU, it wasn’t exactly difficult to identify Kakashi. The silver hair and singular Sharingan that he was incapable of turning off was pretty much a dead giveaway, so it wasn’t really a secret within the village that he was ANBU. However, he was still a bit of a legend, with how young he had joined and having been the only surviving student of the Fourth Hokage. The boy, true to ANBU form, quickly files away the information, and recovers enough to speak. “So, your friends drag you here, too?”

Kakashi snorts. “Something like that,” he says, watching Gai. He can see the boy’s onyx eyes seek him out, grinning blindingly when he sees Kakashi actually conversing with someone of his own accord. Kakashi smirks internally when he realizes how fast Gai’s face would fall, knowing that he’s actually talking with an ANBU comrade that he works with on a decently regular basis. 

Seitaro followed his line of sight, and raised an eyebrow as he saw where Kakashi was looking. “Really? Him? The great Hatake Kakashi is dragged around by that guy?”

Kakashi huffed in irritation. “For your information,  _ that guy _ can kick my ass in taijutsu any day of the week,” he replied icily. 

Seitaro held up his hands in apologetic surrender, taking a step back. “You’re right, sorry. Guess it can be hard sometimes to look past what you’ve been told about someone to see the truth, huh?”

Kakashi just laughed darkly, shaking his head before taking a long drink of his beer. “You’re not kidding,” he muttered. 

“Hey, Taro, get your ass in here, you antisocial dickbag!” they heard from the next room. Seitaro gave a resigned sigh. Kakashi watched him sympathetically. 

“Do they know?” he asked, quiet enough that no one would hear. 

Seitaro swallowed hard, shaking his head no before disappearing into the crowd. Kakashi could sympathize with the guy. It could be lonely, sometimes, being ANBU. Even your squad members weren’t supposed to know your name, strictly speaking, though most of them did, as they had all seen each other’s faces, and after that, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together. But when your friends on the outside didn’t know, it was hard to explain why you were never around, why the only missions you took were “S-ranked solos”. It was part of the reason Kakashi had let himself fade into the darkness, though he was well aware most of his classmates already knew of where he was spending his time. 

Kakashi sighed, resigning himself to his fate as he headed toward where Asuma was currently lazing in the corner of the couch, a drunk Kurenai held up by nothing but his side and Asuma’s hand stroking (what he thought was subtly) over her hip. He found himself quickly engaged in conversation, and it was easier than he would have thought. The rest of the party went rather quickly, most of the people trickling out to do their own thing by midnight, leaving just Asuma, Kurenai, Anko, Genma and Gai, who was still holding Kakashi hostage by glaring him into submission every time his eyes darted longingly to the door. 

Eventually, Anko turned mischievous eyes to Asuma and Kurenai, and Kakashi knew that this wasn’t going to end well. “Let’s play truth or dare!” she slurred. Everyone slowly murmured assent with varying levels of enthusiasm, Gai’s of course being the loudest and most cheery. He looked over at Kakashi as if to say he wouldn’t fault the younger teen for sitting this out, but Kakashi fought to hide the small smiled playing over his lips as he nodded near-imperceptibly. Gai’s enthusiasm was infectious.

As these things tend to, the game started off easy, everyone trying to gauge each others’ reactions and find weaknesses to explore later on. Finally, they got around to the reason that Anko had wanted to play in the first place: ascertaining who had gotten how far with whom. She turned her attention first on Asuma and Kurenai, who blushingly admitted to having gotten as far as second base (well, Kurenai blushed, at any rate; Asuma was as proud as any sixteen-year-old male who had gotten some action would be, though he was actually hiding it surprisingly well for Kurenai’s sake).

When Anko had had her fun with them, she turned to the least-known contender in the game, and Kakashi instantly regretted agreeing to this. He couldn’t back out now, damn his stalwart shinobi pride, but he certainly didn’t want to talk about his personal life (or lack thereof) with anyone here. He passed off choosing truth as being too lazy to do anything else, befitting of the personality he let the public see, and was pleasantly surprised when Anko only asked him what his favorite sweet was. He responded that he wasn't actually a big fan of sweets, and Anko looked at him as though he were insane.

“So you don't even like dango?” she asked.

Kakashi shrugged. “Not really.”

Kakashi shrink back as Anko gave him an almost demented smile. She proceeded to grab a dango off of her plate, take a huge bite, and before Kakashi knew what she was doing, he had a lap full of Anko. His eyes widen in Surprise, and he momentarily froze, giving on go just enough time to grab his mask and push it down around his neck. Fortunately, she didn't really have time to see what was under the mask, instead taking the opportunity to press her lips against Kakashi's, taking advantage of his shock to allow her tongue entrance to his mouth. She kissed the paralyzed jonin for several minutes, and when she pulled back, it was Gai who leaned forward and pulled his mask back up for him. Everyone else was too busy staring at Anko, wondering with concern what Kakashi's reaction to her impulse would be.

For a moment, Kakashi just sat, stunned and paralyzed, Anko still straddling his lap, and the suddenly, he was gone, replaced with a couch pillow. Everyone at the party looked uneasily amongst each other, Anko looking upset, and Gai shot up. “I will go get him!” he vowed with enthusiasm before bolting out the door. 

**********************************************

Kakashi walked home slowly, trying to process what had just happened. He was still fairly drunk and while he may be a genius, he was not very adept at dealing with anything remotely emotional. Or romantic, for that matter. His head was buzzing with so many different thoughts that he couldn't pick one and focus on it. He had never been drunk before, and he was finding he didn't particularly like the experience.

When he heard Gai calling out for him in a drunken whisper, he quickly found shelter on a rooftop nearby. He wasn't sure that he could handle a drunk Gai while being drunk himself. It was sure to result in property damage, and the Hokage had told them if they caused anymore, they'd be paying for it. Kakashi couldn't allow that as it would cut drastically into his Icha Icha money. 

However, that plan was cut short when he felt strong arms wrapped around him from behind and he jumped, squirming and wiggling to escape his captor. As it was, he only managed to turn, and when he saw Gai's grinning face, he relaxed. “I caught you, rival? What does that make the score now?” he murmured, quieter than Kakashi knew he could be. 

Kakashi frowned. “Not a challenge… doesn't count,” he pouted. He saw Gai's eyes widen minutely at the adorable display, but thought nothing of it at the time. 

Gai dropped his arms from around Kakashi, clearing his throat as he stepped back. “My apologies, rival… I just came to make sure you were okay. You left the party pretty quickly,” he said, looking at Kakashi with concern. 

Kakashi looked away to hide his embarrassment as a blush flared on his already warm face.  It had the opposite effect when Gai became concerned Kakashi was going to be sick and turned the younger teen's face to him. He frowned when he saw Kakashi's blush. “Does this have to do with Anko kissing you?” he asked, a frown furrowing his large brows. 

Kakashi's blush deepened, and he pulled his face from Gai's large hand, too embarrassed to answer. Gai let out a booming laugh. “Do not worry, dearest rival. We've found that Anko has little control over her lips when she drinks, be it the things she says or who she's kissing. You would be far from the first to receive her drunken affections. And if it's about your mask, do not worry. Anko was sitting at an angle that none of us saw, and she will be much too drunk to remember in the morning.”

“It's not that,” Kakashi mumbled, before adding something inaudible, and Gai frowned as he tried to understand. All he heard was the word 'never’. 

“Kakashi?” His name was spoken so gently, so quietly, that he jolted, his head flying up, because it wasn't possible that such a sound had come from  _ Gai _ , of all people. But standing in front of him, arm half-raised in the space between them with the desire to touch, to comfort, but not knowing if it would be accepted, remained none other than boisterous, spandex-clad Gai. But the look on his face… it had Kakashi reeling. It was a look of concern, of care… a look he hadn't seen in a long time. It was the look of someone who loved him, and Kakashi felt as though he was drowning in soulful, deep brown eyes. 

Kakashi took a deep breath, looking away. His cheeks flared, and Gai's head tilted in confusion and concern. “I… I'veneverbeenkissedbefore,” he blurted. 

Gai frowned for a moment, and Kakashi felt slight despair that he may have to repeat his humiliating confession, Gai's eyes widened in understanding. “Ooooh…” he said slowly. “So that was…”

“Yeah,” Kakashi said lamely. 

Gai nodded thoughtfully for a moment, processing his friends admission. “That is… surprising.”

Kakashi scoffed. “Believe it or not, Gai, people don't really want to kiss a deadly assassin that they think murdered his own teammates,” he said quietly. Gai opened his mouth to protest, but Kakashi held up a wavering hand to stop him. “It's fine, Gai. I don't need people to kiss. I just need to do my job. Things like kissing and sex are just a distraction, anyway,” he mumbled.

Much to his horror, Gai grabbed his chin, dragging his still-blushing cheekbones into Gai's view. Gai watched him seriously for a moment. He didn't release Kakashi even as he spoke. “Kakashi, it's okay to think your first kiss is a big deal, even if you are a world-class assassin,” he said quietly. He knew he had hit the nail on the head when Kakashi blushed scarlet.

Kakashi yanked his face away again. “I-I don't know what you're talking about,” he stammered, turning to leave. 

Before he could, Gai was in front of him. “Are you upset that your first kiss happened like it did?”

“It's not a big deal, Gai,” he growled, trying to get away again. Again, Gai blocked his escape, and he realized Gai had cornered him in an alley. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Gai. “What the hell are you doing?”

Gai pressed closer until Kakashi's back hit the wall, but he didn't feel threatening. Kakashi was, however, confused, until his self-proclaimed rival quietly asked, “Would you like for me to give you a proper kiss?”

“Wh- but we're both guys,” Kakashi stuttered nervously, pressing harder into the wall at his back. 

Gai may have accepted that, had he not felt Kakashi's heart start to race. “So?” he asked, his voice husky as he pressed in closer.

Kakashi swallowed visibly. “But… wh-why would you want to do that?” 

Gai smirked, unable to take advantage of the one time in his memory that he had known something Kakashi didn't. “Because Kakashi,” he said slowly, watching the other teen's face for any sign of reaction. “I love you.” He said it as though it were the easiest thing in the world to figure out, though in reality he had kept it so tightly under wraps that some of the best shinobi would never have found it, for fear of Kakashi's reaction. Contrary to popular belief, Gai could contain himself, when it was important, and there was nothing more important to him than maintaining his friendship with Kakashi. 

Kakashi's eye widened, and he licked his lips as his eye darted unconsciously down to Gai's. “I… we shouldn't…” he started, thought his intent staring at Gai's mouth contradicted his words. Finally, he forced his eye back up, and met with the intensity of Gai's gaze, he swallowed again before nodding almost imperceptibly. “Okay,” he whispered, barely audible, but it was enough for Gai. 

Gai stepped even closer, using his body to pin the younger teen gently against the wall. Both of his hands rose to the sides of Kakashi's face, holding him gently. When Kakashi didn't protest, he tugged on the mask, pulling it down when Kakashi still didn't move to escape his loose hold. 

When Kakashi's face was revealed, Gai stared, drinking in Kakashi's exposed face for the first time, like a man who'd been wandering the desert for weeks finding water. “So beautiful…” he whispered, his thumb brushing over one of Kakashi's sharp cheekbones. Gai smiled at the shy look in Kakashi's eye. 

He watched carefully for any signs of hesitation or flight in Kakashi as he closed the distance between them slowly, but seeing none, allowed his lips to come to rest in Kakashi's. 

The younger teen gasped at the feel, shocked by how soft and gentle Gai's lips were against his own. Those lips pressed chastely against his own. Once, twice, a third time. When Kakashi seemed to accept that, Gai cracked an eye to see that Kakashi's was closed, and he looked a little shocked. He smiled before leaning in again, this time gently nibbling at Kakashi's lips and allowing his tongue to come into play just a little. He backed off slightly when Kakashi gasped, but Kakashi chased him unconsciously, so he went back in, this time allowing his tongue to slip into his rival's mouth.

Kakashi whimpered slightly at the new intimacy, but returned Gai's confident thrusts with hesitant licks of his own.

When Gai finally pulled away after several minutes, Kakashi was panting lightly and his eye remained shut for several moments. When it opened, the boy looked completely lost. Gai couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. Gai smirked, remaining in Kakashi's space as long as the usually stand-offish teen would allow. “Shall we return to the party?” he asked quietly. “I'm sure our friends are worried.”

Kakashi was still slightly dazed, but nodded without really hearing what Gai said. He slowly regained clarity as they returned to the party. Had he been paying attention, he might have noticed that Gai was surprisingly silent. He stopped walking when he felt a hand on his shoulder, turning slowly to face the older teen. Gai was chewing nervously on his lip, his gaze fixated on the ground. When he looked up, Kakashi saw brazen determination in his eyes. “Kakashi, I… I want you to know, you aren't alone in this world. You never have been. I… I am here for you. I always have been, and I always will be. Whatever you need, you can expect it from me because…” He swallowed hard, and Kakashi could see the internal debate warring in his head as he tried to decide whether or not to continue. He bit his lip in thought, and Kakashi felt the sudden, strange urge to pull that slightly reddened lip into his own mouth. He resisted the urge as he waited for Gai to finish. 

When Gai took a deep breath to steady himself, Kakashi forcibly tore his gaze from the teen's kiss-swollen lips, looking back into eyes full of determination and adoration. “Because I love you, rival. I always will, and you cannot stop me, nor take away the love I have for you. No matter how far you run, no matter how hard you push me away, you will never succeed. I will always be here, and I will always be waiting, hoping that one day, you can find it in your heart to return my affections.” 

Kakashi gaped at the boy, his mouth hanging open beneath his mask. Whatever he had been expecting, it certainly hadn't been  _ that _ , though he would later realize that he shouldn't have been so surprised. It was Gai, after all, and he was nothing if not unpredictable. Having said his piece, Gai grabbed a shell-shocked Kakashi's hand, smiling tentatively at the younger teen when he didn't pull away and pulling him back in the direction of the party.

They walked nearly the whole way like that, Gai's hand large and warm around Kakashi's clammy palm, though he didn't seem to mind. It wasn't until they reached the door to Asuma’s apartment that Gai gave a squeeze, regretfully dropping Kakashi's hand and swinging the door open to allow the younger teen entrance before him. Kakashi stood frozen on the threshold for a moment before a call from inside caught his attention, and he shook himself out of his stupor, stepping back into the hot air of a room filled with too many bodies. 

The second he was back in the room, a drunken Anko fell on him, slurring out apologies and pleading forgiveness. Kakashi raised an eyebrow as he looked around the room. A tense air had settled over the party as all in attendance waited with baited breath to see what the unpredictable jonin would do, all eyes on them. Kakashi swallowed hard as his eye roamed the party goers, but steadied once it met with an unwavering onyx gaze. Gai smiled reassuringly, and it seemed to relax all the tension out from Kakashi's frame. 

He half-heartedly pushed the drunk girl away, his eye curling into his infamous crinkle-eyed smile, though no one would know it was not for the sobbing girl in his arms. “Maa, don't worry about it,” he said, and just like that the tension in the room diffused instantly. People went back to their conversations, the music volume was turned back to blaringly loud, and Anko stumbled away after shooting Kakashi a grateful and apologetic drooped smile. Kakashi's eye met Gai's over the crowd again, and he offered a tentative smile, which Gai returned with blinding brilliance.

**************************************************

It wasn't until years later that Kakashi acted upon the affections he had developed for the spandex-suited jonin that night. Not until one night, thirteen years later, when Kakashi's next big hit came in the form of his favorite student’s willing abandonment of the village in favor of searching for power with the terrifying and demonized Orochimaru did Kakashi find himself on the doorstep of Gai's apartment, palms sweating and heart racing as he heard footsteps cross to the door. It swung open to reveal Gai, wearing just a pair of sweats, muscular chest on display, hair still mussed from sleep. Kakashi's throat went dry at the sight. 

Gai looked confused at first, blinking the sleep from his eyes as he tried to comprehend what was going on. “Rival? What are you doing here so late?” he asked, yawning. 

Kakashi licked his dry lips, searching desperately for all the words he knew he should say, but instead, he could find only he ones that had been on the tip of his tongue for too many years. “Gai…  _ please _ …” he begged quietly, his eyes pleading with the older man to understand.

Gai frowned at him in confusion for a moment before realization dawned on his face, wiping away all traces of sleep from his eyes and replacing the expression of confusion with a blinding smile. “You've kept me waiting, Kakashi…” he said, the rumble of his deep voice echoing in Kakashi's chest and making him feel whole. 

“I’m sorry…” The words are whispered between them, so quiet Gai more read them off Kakashi’s lips than heard them, but Gai opens his arms welcomingly nonetheless. 

The blinding smile is enough to reach the depths of even Kakashi’s walled-off heart, and Kakashi was powerless to do anything but step into the strong arms of his best friend, his rival... his love. As those muscular arms wrap lovingly around him, Kakashi closes his eyes, sighing in relief as he leans into the broad chest. It feels like coming home, and Kakashi has never felt more at peace. 

Gai’s next words are whispered so close they send shivers down his spine.“Welcome home, Kakashi…”


End file.
